Municipal News & Jobs

Halstead Fire/EMS dedicated its new fire truck Saturday (March 14) morning with an open house, including snacks, a speech by Fire/EMS Chief Director Anderson Lowe, and a visit from local dignitaries, including Halstead Mayor Gary Faelber, Sedgwick City Administrator Kyle Nordick, and Kansas State Senator Stephen Owens. Also, the new fire truck, number 21, was on display, as were an ambulance and the rescue truck. Lowe said the new truck had a 1,000-gallon water tank and a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump. Lowe thanked the city leaders for making it possible to get the new truck, the men and women who serve the fire and EMS, and the citizens of Halstead.
Read more: Harvey County Now

There’s a board at the Walton Cemetery identifying everyone who’s taken up eternal residence there That’s about 775. Some are grouped in families, and some are still alive but have purchased plots. The Walton Lions Club has made the cemetery its project for the last 20 to 25 years, Walton Lions Club President Dean Davis said. When they first went out there, they worked on headstones and setting them level. They’re still doing that.
Read more: Harvey County Now

There was a new lawman in town at Johnson County’s Monticello Township, following an election on March 22, 1858. He was James Butler Hickok, who was elected one of four constables in the township. It was the first of several law enforcement jobs he was to hold during his lifetime. He also was a scout, a sharpshooter, a professional gambler and eventually known as “Wild Bill” Hickok, legendary lawman of the Old West. At age 20, Hickok upheld law and order in Monticello, a small town with a stagecoach stop, a few stores and saloons, and the countryside of Monticello Township. A year later, he was gone, becoming a freight wagon driver, and later working at a station of the Pony Express.
Read more: Johnson County Kansas

Jay had a choice to make last week: Extend his hospital stay so he could get medical treatment, or go to court for unpaid fines after he was caught sleeping in a public park bathroom. All he had needed was a place to rest. Jay, a homeless man who asked to go only by his first name to maintain his privacy, skipped medical treatment and went to court. In much of Johnson County, it’s increasingly hard for people like Jay to find a place to rest. Case in point: In Gardner, sleeping outside can now get you a ticket. Last month, the Gardner City Council voted 4-1 to approve a new ordinance banning unlawful camping on public property — a definition that includes sleeping in parks, on benches, or even in a car. Councilmember Kelly Johnson cast the lone dissenting vote. City leaders note that the goal isn’t punishment. Instead, they say, it’s intervention.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The affordable housing issue in Sedgwick County extends beyond Wichita into its suburbs, such as Derby.  To address affordable housing in Derby, zoning changes have been requested to allow duplex construction in the city.  However, some citizens of Derby have not been happy, prompting Derby’s council to ultimately reject a large duplex project last fall. The plans haven’t been brought back up again since. According to notes from Documenter Sharon Ailsilenger, two citizens took the lead in speaking out against the construction of the duplexes during a meeting of the Derby City Council last fall.  Before the meeting, a 63-page agenda report on the development was sent to residents of the 55th and Woodlawn neighborhood, where the duplexes are set to be constructed.  The citizens, Audrey Goff and Trena Hodges, both live in the neighborhood.  During the time they spoke, they each brought up different concerns about the development. 
Read more: KLC Journal

As plans for a new Chiefs domed stadium, headquarters, and practice facility move forward, some key local voices may be involved in running those facilities. Tuesday night, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a bill to create the Kansas Sports Authority to operate those facilities. The Chiefs plan to build their stadium and entertainment complex in Kansas City, Kansas and their headquarters and practice facility in Olathe. An amendment approved as part of the bill would include the mayors of both KCK and Olathe as voting members on the 11-member sports authority board. “We are glad the legislature is being considerate of our local community. We appreciate the representation,” said Unified Government Mayor/CEO Christal Watson in a statement Wednesday.
“I think it’s only appropriate that the mayors, the leaders of the community have a say,” said Tom Burroughs, a former Kansas state lawmaker and Wyandotte County Commissioner who’s been involved in the Chiefs move to Kansas.
Read more: KMBC

A Kansas County has temporarily halted commercial projects that have become a hot-button issue for many communities. On Tuesday, the Saline County Commission voted 4-0 to place a moratorium on the construction of data center, nuclear power and hydrogen-based energy facilities in unincorporated areas of the county. The moratorium is set to last for three years, but commissioners have the option to shorten or lengthen it. The goal is to give county planning staff time to come up with regulations for the facilities in question. Some commissioners said they also wanted to delay action on any facilities until after the next election so candidates can make it a campaign issue and voters can decide.
Read more: KSN-TV

The bill that creates the entity that would own the Kansas City Chiefs stadium in the Sunflower State passed out of the State House Tuesday night. Lawmakers added the Mayors of Olathe and KCK as likely voting members to the board. This is what KCK Mayor Christal Watson, along with Unified Government of Wyandotte County Administrator David Johnston, wanted. Both went to Topeka on Tuesday, March 10, to talk about this. The House Commerce Committee rejected Wyandotte County’s ask Thursday, March 12, but the full House ended up adding Wyandotte County’s CEO on Tuesday, March 17th. “We have value,” Watson said on Wednesday after the vote in the house. “They saw that we have value, and that’s what’s most important.”
Read more: KSN-TV

Marion County commissioners approved a resolution Monday banning commercial wind energy conversion systems in multiple townships in the county’s unincorporated areas. Commissioner Mike Beneke cast the lone dissenting vote. The resolution prohibits commercial and utility-scale wind projects, including turbines, substations, and related infrastructure, in 15 identified townships. The ban applies to new applications and construction but does not restrict small-scale wind systems for personal use.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

Goessel residents warned not to let infants and pregnant women drink nitrate-laced tap water is waiting a repeat test before its water supply is cleared. A test last week indicated nitrate levels 10% above a federal standard, resulting in a warning not to give tap water to infants younger than 6 months or pregnant women or to use it to make infant formula. The sample measured nitrate at 11 milligrams per liter, according to the notice the city distributed. The notice said the city expected to notify residents within 30 days of retesting.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

The Lenexa Police Department reported its animal control officers are seeing more raccoons in the area exhibiting signs of canine distemper. The viral disease typically affects animals like raccoons, foxes and skunks, and it could cause them to come across as disoriented, lethargic or abnormally tame, per a social media post from Lenexa police. LPD said residents should never feed wildlife as it increases contact between animals and can contribute to the disease spreading. If you find a raccoon that looks sick or is acting unusual, contact the dispatch center at 913-477-7301. Residents are also encouraged to check their pets vaccination records and make sure those are current.
Read more: KSHB

Property taxes in Johnson County have been a major topic of concern for many residents, especially retirees worried about being priced out of their homes. But the assessed value is only half of the story. The other half is the mill levy, the rate at which your property is taxed. Jane Zaccardi, a retired Johnson County resident, said the increases have been difficult to manage. “Being a retired person and essentially [on] a fixed income, that kind of jump is not sustainable,” Zaccardi said.
Read more: KSHB

Mayor Christal Watson launched her first “Christal Clear Conversations” town hall Tuesday afternoon, kicking off a community engagement series aimed at increasing transparency and collaborative problem solving between the Unified Government and Wyandotte County residents. The event was held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the KCK Town House Tenant Association, located at 1021 N. Seventh St. in Kansas City, Kansas. Most attendees were residents with questions and issues about senior services, transportation and safety. Watson and her staff shared resources and took questions, and several residents offered their own solutions.
Read more: KSHB

A water test on March 4 showed nitrate levels in Rural Water District 101, which serves the Yoder area, of 13 milligrams per liter (mg/L), which is above the state and federal level for maximum contaminant level, Reno County announced on Monday, March 16, in a news release. The state and federal maximum is set at 10 mg/L, Reno County Public Works Director Don Brittain wrote in the release. He wrote that nitrates in water come from a combination of natural, industrial, and agricultural sources.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Allen County commissioners are considering a new sales tax proposal to fund emergency medical services after last year’s effort failed. Allen County commissioners are weighing a second attempt at asking voters to approve a sales tax dedicated to emergency medical services. At Tuesday morning’s commission meeting, discussion focused on how to better inform the public after a previous proposal in November 2024 fell short. Commission Chair David Lee described the concept as a targeted funding source for ambulance services, asking fellow commissioners whether they want to move forward with a measure. “It would go to support the ambulance services — nothing else,” Lee noted. Commissioners made no mention of potentially lowering property taxes, which in 2024 was part of their campaign to enact a higher sales tax dedicated to EMS. While no formal decision was made, commissioners agreed that if the proposal returns — potentially on the November ballot — public education will play a larger role than it did previously.
Read more: The Iola Register

Iola and Allen County are launching new initiatives to boost economic development, tackle workforce shortages, and attract high-wage jobs to the region. Camille Lavon spent her first six months as economic development director for Iola and Allen County doing a lot of listening and learning. Her goal: to become as intimately familiar as possible with what the local business climate had to offer, and what needed help. Some of the challenges were hardly a mystery, reflective of southeast Kansas as a whole: businesses are struggling in an area with aging infrastructure,  affordable housing shortages and declining population. Mostly, companies have found it difficult to find quality employees. Tack in news that Gates Corporation was closing a production line, and cutting more than 80 jobs in the process, and it’s safe to say Lavon’s getting-to-know-you stage was a whirlwind.
Read more: The Iola Register

A long-awaited upgrade to Humboldt’s animal shelter is complete, replacing a decades-old facility with a modern space designed to better care for animals and serve the community. Construction on the new building at 700 S. First St. began in January and was led by Hanson Contracting of Humboldt, whose crew handled the bulk of the work on a tight timeline. For Animal Control Officer Sheri Modlin, the new shelter is a major improvement over what the community has relied on for years. The previous structure, she explained, consisted of just four outdoor kennels and dated back to around 1970. “We’ve always had a small shelter,” she said.  Over time, maintaining it became an ongoing challenge as inspections repeatedly revealed issues that needed to be addressed. Rather than continuing to patch an outdated facility, an unexpected opportunity made a full replacement possible. Funding for the project came from a donation left by the late David Bain and his sister, the late Kay Frances (Bain) Davis, both Humboldt natives.
Read more: The Iola Register

The Kansas House and Senate went tit-for-tat last week, rebuffing each other’s property tax relief proposals, which have been billed this legislative session as making good on old promises to alleviate Kansans’ residential property tax burdens. When the House voted down a Senate resolution that would have allowed voters to decide on an annual cap on assessed value increases for commercial and residential property, the Senate skipped over scheduled discussion on a House bill seeking to create funding limits for local taxing entities. The two proposals have been in the works for months, if not years, and they were comprehensive enough to promise property tax relief for a wide swath of Kansans. Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican who is running this year for the GOP nomination for governor, urged the House to “put taxpayers first.”
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Wamego will soon be home to the world’s largest Toto. The Wamego Chamber of Commerce was awarded an attraction and development grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce and Tourism to construct a 15-foot tall Toto statue modeled after illustrations from the original “The Wizard of OZ” book by L. Frank Baum. This allows the community to avoid any potential legal battles with MGM, which produced the classic 1939 film. “Toto is a character that we can use and don’t have to worry about copyright issues, which that goes dating back to the original Toto statues,” said Corey Reeves, the chamber’s tourism and event manager. Kansas Department of Commerce director of tourism Bridgette Jobe said one thing Kansas historically does really well is “world’s largest” items, with 12 attractions already statewide.
Read more: themercury.com

The Topeka Tenants group has formally endorsed a rental registry for the city. A rental registry would require landlords to register their properties with the local municipality. The Shawnee County Landlords Association has expressed opposition to the proposed registry. Topeka Tenants have formerly endorsed giving a rental list on the books. During the Public Health and Safety Committee meeting on March 11, Jonathan Smith, a Topeka Tenant member, read the endorsement for the committee. “Topeka Tenants, formerly endorses a landlord registry and tenant protection proposals that would include many benefits for both tenants and landlords, thus creating social safety nets for vulnerable populations on both sides,” Smith said. “Ultimately, we believe a landlord registry will result in a safer and more inviting city.”
Read more: Topeka Capital